< 'ii \rr. win. Phantoms. Spoons. Split ring* 



strength, the size of the phantom being from 



Phkntams. 



ti inches in length, tail included, with hooks 



No. 4 size. I think the best phant for general use is 



4 inches long, dressed with Xo. 4 hooks, ami that yen want no 

 other. For Bfahseer they should he mounted on stout treble L'ut ; 

 lor l'.a-mm, on medium gimp; for Cock-up, on stout gimp. 



Spoon baits also should be mounted with the same hooks 

 specially for India, and should, for the reason. 



'119. 



already given (page 13 . be made of thicker metal 

 than fishing spoons ordinarily are. 1 like them as thick as a good 

 t nspoon, and gilt on one side, silvered on the other. The sizes 

 for Mahseer spoons are from two to three inches in length in the 

 howl. The smallest may be used when the river is very small, 

 and the fish run small; indeed, I have killed well in such rivers 

 with a spoon one and a quarter inch long. The largest size may 

 be used when you expect particularly big fish. But the best 

 spoon for general use is, 1 think, two and a half inches long, which 

 is just the size of an ordinary dessert spoon. 



For the reasons given below in connection with rust-eaten gut, 



it is desirable that the ring in the spoon to which the gut trace is 



attached should be of some material that does not rust like the 



steel split ring ordinarily used. Electro-plated iron or brass miglit 



ibstituted with advant 



And split rings must unquestionably be abhorred. They are 

 an abomination. Xo matter how stout they may 



Split rings. 



be, they are utterly untrustworthy, and are sure to 

 fail you with your first biji fish. Tackle-makers, even the best of 

 them, will use split rings, because they are so easily put on, look so 

 neat, and are supposed to be so convenient for the angler. I enter 

 against split rings the most uncompromising protest. Oh, the magni- 

 ficent fish they have lost me ! I cannot bear the sight of them. I 

 take them off and break them up the moment I see them, for I 

 wouldn't trust one for a single day, even when perfectly new. I 

 substitute a bit of brass wire a little less than the thickness of the 

 hook. One end goes through the eye in the point of the spoon, and 

 through the eye of one treble, and being brought back just loose 

 enough to allow the treble to play, is given with the pliers three 

 turns round the wire, as neatly and as close to the spoon as possible; 

 the other end goes through an eye of the swivel, and is similarly 



